Current Development Projects

December 2001

The Robert Nathan Wing of the School for Peace

The Robert Nathan Wing of the School for Peace is now being constructed, after finishing all the plans and removing the old administration building. The new prefabricated building will provide three new classrooms for SFP activities, replace the asbestos roofs on some of the existing classrooms, refurbish the inner courtyard and, if funds allow, construct a weatherproof covering for the courtyard.

The Nathan wing replaces the old administration building, which has been dismantled and removed.

Funding for this project originally came from the American Friends of NSWAS, and largely through a benefit dinner which took place in Washington on April 29, 1999 to honour Mr. Robert Nathan.  In the year 2001, Mr. Nathan died, so the building will be dedicated to him, with appropriate inscription. 

Administration Building

This project has been linked with the Robert Nathan wing of the School for Peace, since the latter was to be built in its location. After a solution was found to relocate the administration building, the Robert Nathan Wing project was approved. This involved building new premises for the administration atop the public relations building, thereby bringing these two central functions of the village, whose work is closely interrelated, under a single roof.

Work is now in progress on the new storey which, when completed, will be used by the secretary general, office manager, treasurer and development supervisor.

Funding for this project came from the American Friends' Association.

Volunteer House

The new volunteer house is now under construction at the east end of the village; linked on one side with the 'bachelors’ units.' This building is a one-storey building with five rooms, shared kitchen facility, bathroom and shared living room. The building can house five volunteers. These units, when not in use by volunteers, may also provide hospitality for members of the friends' associations, researchers and others.

The project is entirely funded by the German Friends' Association.

Waste water treatment plant
(Sewer project)

For several years, until a permanent solution could be found, the village sewage has been collected in an oxygenation pool. Now, with the encroachment of new homes in its proximity, the pool has become a health hazard, and the Health Ministry has ordered us to terminate its use.

To replace the oxygenation pool, NSWAS has  contracted with a company that will provide a sewer plant for the village. The facility will depend upon natural micro-organisms to purify sewage and produce water good for irrigation.

The plant will be located away from the residential part of the village, on Latroun Monastery land (with  the Monastery's kind consent). It will provide clean water for the irrigation of the Monastery's olive trees.

The plant is now being manufactured to our specifications in Germany. It should be ready for installation in early 2002. This vital project will provide sewage facility both for the current habitation of the village and its proposed expansion. The project has been funded by the American Friends' Association and the municipality of Basel, Switzerland.

Auditorium landscaping

The village's recently constructed auditorium is still surrounded by undeveloped land which in winter converts to a sea of mud, making the building's use impractical for several months of the year.

The Auditorium serves as the main hall for various community activities (especially those that require a large public space) and can be used to host events by outside organizations that find NSWAS to be a natural venue for their work. Lack of proper access to the building and the unfinished appearance of its grounds have prevented us from deriving full benefit from this important building.

The landscaping is being funded by the American Friends' Association.

New Village Street

An unpaved street, 150 metres in length, that serves the new neighbourhood in the northeast section of the community, was surfaced with asphalt this month. Funding for the project came from the village residents, both new residents and long-term members.

The Peace Garden in Memory of Judith Buff

Ruth and Robert St. John of USA donated money to construct a peace garden in memory of their daughter Judith.  The garden has been nicely completed with a small tract of roses and arches of bougainvillea leading into a grassy grove of established olive trees, together with other plants, bushes and natural features of the landscape.  A plaque demarking the garden has already been installed.

Future Plans

Access Road

The narrow existing access road to the village, with its pot holes and hairpin bends, has become a real hazard to drivers and passengers entering or leaving the village. The 1.7 kilometre asphalt road is barely 3 meters wide - too narrow for two-way traffic.  Since the mid 1980s, when the road was constructed, the village has quadrupled in size, as has the traffic traversing it.  School buses filled with children ply this road twice a day, as do hotel guests, residents and visitors, all of which must veer onto the road's soft shoulders whenever surprised by an approaching vehicle. The plan calls for the road to be widened to 5.5 metres.

Village Expansion Plan

The Expansion Plan for the Village, which calls for the addition of approximately 90 housing plots, was recently approved by the Regional Building and Planning Committee, and has now gone for review by the National Building and Planning Commission, with its various subcommittees.  If the plan is approved there, it will be deposited again with the regional committee and publicised in order to allow for the hearing of possible objections by the public.  If the plan successfully passes through this process, it will then be possible to proceed to execute it.

The Peace Campus

The planned Peace Campus was recently approved by the Regional Building and Planning Committee, and will now go for review to the National Building and Planning Commission.  As with the Village Expansion Plan, the Campus Plan will be deposited again with the regional committee for the hearing of objections by the public.  After this, it will be necessary to select an architect in order to produce a general building plan of the Campus, including locations and dimensions of the various buildings, the type of material to be used, etc.  Planning expenses and associated fees for the campus till now have been covered by the Folke Bernadotte Memorial Foundation.  We will need to seek additional funding for the building plans.
 

The old administration building

The site for the Nathan Wing